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Participants:

Date:

2010.09.29

Location:

EW - Headwoman's Office

Synopsis:

A peek into one of Indira and Max's meetings.

Rating:

PG13

Logger:

Max

Yet again, he was on time and Indira was late. Fragmented sleep as a result of nightmares that plagued coupled with the longer hours his extended duties were requiring of him, found Max sound asleep. Hat pulled down low over his face and boots propped up on the headwoman’s desk before him, just the steady rise and fall of his chest any indication that the young man was even still alive.

Waine had seen her coming down the passage and while he could easily have slipped in and handed warning to Max, he instead watched Indira drawing ever closer, a small smirk playing about his mouth for what he knew was about to come.

The headwoman swept passed him with just a faint nod in his direction to even acknowledge that she’d seen him and strode on into her office. Without breaking her stride Indira slapped her son’s hat off of his head as she went by and gave sharply, “Boots off!” before rounding her desk and sinking gracefully into her own seating. “Now, where were we?” dark eyes scanning the sheet of paper before her.

Max woke with a start as his hat was sent flying, “What the fu…Oh,” a scowl sent his mothers’ way. But he took his own sweet time about getting his boots off her desk, that same challenge in his eyes that he’d worn as a boy, daring her to make him do it faster.

“For one who holds the position of Beast Manager, I’d really expect more from you by now,” Indira stated without looking up, “And where’s Yaron? I wanted him here too.”

The beast manager leant sideways and reached for his hat where it had landed on the floor, clamping it firmly back on his head in another show of defiance for wearing it indoors. Remaining in his comfortable slouch, Max shrugged, “I may have forgotten to tell him his presence was required.” Smirk. He hadn’t forgotten at all. In fact he’d deliberately not extended the invitation as he was a little worried about the older man dropping him in the shit with regards to his past misdeeds now looking to be coming back to bite him in the ass. The less his mother knew about that, the better. In his way of thinking anyway.

Dark eyes flicked upward and pinned to her son, sending him an unimpressed look as she leaned back in her chair and got down to the business at hand. “We’ve got two sets of eyes and ears in the bar now,” Indira stated with a smug little smile.

Max met that look steadily from under the brim of his hat and then a brow lifted, “Two?” having known Hayli was going to be situated, this additional informant came as a surprise.

“Aye, Jaya asked for a bodyguard in return for allowing us to place Hayli,” she couldn’t resist the little chortle that rose up for just how that request had played into her hands.

The beast manager look impressed and straightened a little in his chair, “Knew she was rattled but…” His words trailed never having expected Jaya to drop her guard enough to ask for help. “You’re good,” he gave his mother with grudging respect.

“And you’re like a bull in a china shop,” Indira chided on his own efforts having come up empty handed but looked pleased nonetheless for the praise given her.

Max merely grunted at that and then asked, “So who’d you send her?”

The headwoman’s mouth twitched and a smirk was only barely contained, “Shijan.”

“What?” that had his immediate attention, “You sent her Shijan? But what about…” Max’s words trailed off yet again and then a sly grin peeled out, “Shijan? Really?” low laughter followed being very well aware of how the dark skinned former harper apprentice operated.

Indira arched a brow upward in response to her son’s unfinished sentence, “That’s why I wanted Yaron here. He’ll have to take over at Landing.” She rolled her shoulders in a small shrug and sent an innocent look to Max, “She looked so sad and lonely. I thought Shijan might do her good.”

“Mmhm,” the beast manager gave in dubious response to his mother’s reasoning in having sent Shijan to act as bodyguard and then he snorted. “Yaron ain’t nowhere near gonna pass as a harper, smith…maybe.”

“Now you’re thinking, darlin’,” Indira gave with a little smile as Max figured it out. And then switching subjects smoothly while still remaining on topic, “We need eyes on the ground up Reaches way. Tillek, Crom and Bitra if you’ve got any contacts in those areas?”

Max almost visibly started at mention of Tillek but was able to suppress it in time, “D’ral just got posted as a watchrider at Crom, last I heard. Lost contact with Auren after I left Tillek,” lying smoothly. And then a light smirk flashed from under his hat, “Bitra’s more your style, mother.”

Dark eyes narrowed onto her son, “Watch your tongue, Lomaxin.” Given with barely a lift in volume of voice but with a definite warning edge strung through her tone. “I’ll have word delivered to D’ral, though the note would probably be better coming from you. And then see if you can raise Auren again.” Businesslike once more.

His jaw tightened a fraction. He’d deliberately broken all ties with Tillek, not having wanted the Lady Holder to have any idea where he’d gone after he’d left. Then again, the softly spoken laundress had been one of the very few he’d been able to trust during those tumultuous two years in service to Lord Elisser. Never asking questions when he’d return some nights looking like a dragon had done a Gather dance across his face and body and always backing up his story of some or other mishap with an unruly runner. Of course, re-establishing ties with Auren, if she were even still at Tillek Hold, would serve his own purposes in gaining what information he could about his daughter. Mulling all this over his silence played out longer than he’d intended and Indira was soon pinning him with one of those looks of hers.

“You got a problem with any of that?” a brow arching upward as the headwoman studied what she could see of her son’s face from under his hat.

“No Ma’am,” Max gave as he unfolded from his slouch and pushed to his feet. “I’ll have that note to D’ral ready for you in the morning and tell Yaron you need him down at Landing,” tipping his hat back from his face a little to reveal a perfectly genial expression in place, “Same deal as before?”

Indira’s study continued on a little longer, knowing he was keeping something from her but that was a runner she’d all but beaten to death and still he wouldn’t give. With a sigh she nodded, “Aye, same deal as before. And Max?”

He halted his outward progress and turned back toward his mother, “Aye?”

“Give Ahnika my love and tell her to drop by sometime, will you?” a fondness painted across her features for her almost junior headwoman, “I have something for her that should aid in the baking of those pies,” the last delivered with a little smirk. Oh yes, word of the green weyrling’s night time activities in the kitchens on occasion had reached her and it hadn’t been hard to put two and two together.

It was all Max could do not to gape at his mother but he did a fairly good job and snapped his sagging jaw shut, failing however to halt the light wash of colour that crossed his face. Indira probably being the only person in a very long time that was still capable of making her son blush on occasion. Clearing his throat he nodded and without further word, gratefully escaped the office, sending a glare back to Waine who followed snickering, in his wake.